Many Young Men of Twenty E-Book

John B. Keane

• Herausgeber: Mercier Press
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 89

Beschreibung

A musical play dealing with emigration and the lack of jobs at home that forced people to leave their native Ireland for England. It describes the emigrants 'longing for home' - 'Everyone is lonesome leaving home' - their annual homecomings and their return to jobs and places they disliked - 'back to their night shifts, an' filthy digs ... with their long faces leanin' out o' the carriage windows with the thoughts of what's waitin' over'.

Leseprobe

Mercier Press

3B Oak House, Bessboro Rd

Blackrock, Cork, Ireland.

www.mercierpress.ie

http://twitter.com/IrishPublisher

http://www.facebook.com/mercier.press

First published in 1961 by Progress House (Publications) Ltd.

This edition 2015

© Words and Music John B. Keane Occasions, 1961

ISBN: 978 1 89817 504 9

Epub ISBN: 978 1 78117 433 3

Mobi ISBN: 978 1 78117 434 0

Many Young Men of Twenty is a copyright play and may not be performed without a licence. Application for a licence for amateur performances must be made in advance to the Drama League of Ireland, The Mill Theatre, Dundrum, Dublin 16. Terms for professional performances may be had from JBK Occasions, 37 William Street, Listowel, Co. Kerry.

This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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Contents

Act One

Act Two Scene One

Act Two Scene Two

Act Three

About the Author

About the Publisher

About This Play

To Peg and John,

without whose assistance I could not possibly

be so late on first nights.

‘Many Young Men of Twenty’ was first presented in 1961 by the Southern Theatre Group at the Father Mathew Hall, Cork, with the following cast;

Peg Finnerty

Siobhán O’Brien

Danger Mulally

James N. Healy

Maurice Brown

Michael Twomey

Seelie Hannigan

Abbey Scott

Tom Hannigan

Dan Donovan

Maynan

Kay Healy

Daheen Timineen Din

Tom Vesey

Kevin

Flor Dullea

Dinny

Bernard Power

Kitty Curley

Mary O’Donovan

Dot

Irene Comerford

J.J. Houlihan

Bob Carlile

Johnny

Donal Farmer

Aloysius

Charles Ginnane

Mikey

Ian Halligan

Mary

Geraldine McDonald

The play was produced by Dan Donovan, with settings by Frank Sanquest.

Act One

[Action takes place in the back room of a village public-house, somewhere in Southern Ireland. There are appropriate advertisements hanging from the wall. Two tables occupy the room, one large and one small. There are several chairs and a bench.

A man and a woman sit at larger table; a girl in her early twenties at the smaller one. They are completing breakfast, backs to each other. The man is Tom Hannigan. The woman is his sister Seelie. The girl is Peg Finnerty.

Tom Hannigan is coatless, smoking a cigarette. He is fortyish. Seelie is slightly younger, severe, sits rigidly and is outwardly composed. Peg Finnerty is young, pretty, and dressed poorly.The time is the morning of a summer’s day. It is the present time]

Seelie [Precise, Correct] What time is it?

Tom [Alerted] Almost half-ten; nearly time to open.

Seelie Yes; there should be a few going to England.

Tom Ah, well … [Rises] … I’ll open the front door. We should have a few before the train. [Tom opens front door. A tattered but respectable figure stands outside] Oh, it’s you, Aloysius. First to the door as always. The usual, I suppose?

[Aloysius nods and sits]

Seelie[Rising] You brush and tidy up here, Peg. I’ll take the ware to the back kitchen. [Seelie finds a basin under table and proceeds to fill it with the breakfast things. Peg rises and exits to left, briefly, returning with brush] Watch what he’s doing!

Peg Who?

Seelie Who do you think …?

Peg I’ll watch him.[Peg commences to brush floor towards direction of fireplace at right]

Seelie You’ll get a cloth, Peg, and shine the place up a bit and … [Meaningly] you remember what I told you about himself … if you see him nippin’ at the bottles, be sure and tell me.

Peg Yes, Miss Seelie!

[Exit Seelie by door near fireplace. Peg continues with her brushing and commences to sing]

Many young men of twenty said good-bye

All that long day

From break of dawn until the sun was high

Many young men of twenty said good-bye.

My boy, Jimmy, went that day

On the big ship sailed away

Sailed away and left me here to die

Many young men of twenty said good-bye.

[Peg continues to hum the air. Tom enters cautiously]

Tom Is she gone?

Peg She’s probably washin’ the ware. She told me to keep an eye on you.

Tom Good! [He exits hastily]

Peg [Singing]

My Jimmy said he’d sail across the sea

He swore his oath

He’d sail again, back home to marry me

My Jimmy said he’d sail across the sea

But my Jimmy left me down

O, my Jimmy, please come back to me!

O, my Jimmy, please come back to me!

[Peg sings the song again. Tom enters, head craned forward first, hands behind back. He walks towards fireplace and produces a tumbler of whiskey from behind his back]

Tom[To Peg] You won’t say a word about this?

Peg No!

Tom[Surveys whiskey] ‘Twas never needed more, Peg! [Swallows whiskey - sighs contentedly] Ah, good God, there’s a great rattle in that! (Tom shakes his shoulders. Enter Seelie suddenly. Tom just manages to get the glass into his trousers pocket)

Seelie Why aren’t you in the bar?

Tom[A little flustered] Checkin’ up! Just checkin’ up!

Seelie Come here at once! [Tom goes towards her] Come on, puff! [Tom extends his head and blows his breath on to her face. Immediately she slaps his face. She turns to Peg]

Seelie You … You … Don’t you know what he’s doin’ to himself? I thought I told you to tell me? I should have known what to expect from you … a tramp!

Tom Peg knew nothing about it. She didn’t see me.

Seelie Taking sides against me! … Listen to me, Tom Hannigan. If you touch another drop of that bottle to-day, you can be ready to leave here … and I mean it, this time! [Rousing herself] How long do you think I’m going to take it from you? Every night when you go to bed, you’re drunk… stupid drunk. You think I don’t hear you staggerin’ against the sides of the stairs and missin’ every other step.

Tom ‘Twas only a little drop, to cure myself after the night. I’d a shake in my hand.

Seelie It’s the same every morning. I’m not taking any more of it, Tom, and I’m not warnin’ you any more either. [She exits]

Tom A wonderful start to the day. [Takes the glass from his pocket] She knocked all the enjoyment out of it. How do you stick it here at all, Peg? Why don’t you pack your traps and hit away for England?

Peg I can’t go.

Tom If ‘tis the money. Peg … I have some. I often thought to make a break of it myself, but sure she’d have no one to give out to if I went.

Peg She’s your sister, Tom. She doesn’t like me. I’m only the servant girl here. All she has is you, Tom.

Tom Forget about her ! Do you want money?

Peg ‘Tisn’t the money. Sure I couldn’t go without the little fellow.

Tom He’ll be all right with your father and mother. You’ll never do any good for yourself here. I see you there often, Peg, when lads walk into the bar outside, especially them travellers with motor-cars, an’ they all tryin’ to get off with you …

[From without the door on the wall facing audience, from a distance, can be heard the voice of a man singing. Aloysius rises and departs at the sound]

Voice[Singing]

Oh, rise up, Mikey Houlihan, ‘tis you’re the daunt less man, When Ireland, she was in her woe, you was always in the van. Near to the town of Keelty, you were murdered in July; God rest you, Mikey Houlihan, the darlin’ Irish boy.

Peg[In the middle of the singing] That’s Danger Mullaly comin’!

Tom With a sick head as usual, an’ short fourpence for the price of a pint. [Enter Danger Mullaly. He is fiftyish, tattered, curious. His accent is semi-detached and varied and stentorian. He carries a timber box, painted red, in his hand. The box is a foot square and about three inches high. He enters by door on wall facing audience]

Danger[To no one in particular] ‘Oh, rise up, Mikey Houlihan, that brave and dauntless boy …’ Mikey Houlihan! Mikey boloney! Shot by accident for Ireland. Twenty-four of his relations drawing State pensions and twenty-four more in Government jobs, and here am I, Danger Mullaly, with my box full of holy pictures an’ short fourpence on the price o’ the pint. [Changes tone to intimacy] ‘Tis frightful quiet. Peg Finnerty, for a mornin’ before the train. ‘Tis frightful quiet, Tom Hannigan. [Puts his box on the table] That’s the lookin’ they have at me! You’d swear I was the solicitor that advised Pontius Pilate … [Changes tone] Tom Hannigan, as sure as there’s brown bastards in China, I’ll pay you the extra fourpence … here’s a shillin’ on the table, a silver shillin’, made an manufactured by tradesmen that had a feelin’ for beauty … proposed, passed and seconded herewith … one pint of Guinness for a sick man … balance to be paid in due course on the word of Danger Mullaly, guilty but insane … [Pause] … Guinness, a porter-maker that had his face on a stamp the same as Parnell.

Tom What’ll we do with him, Peg?

Peg[Now dusting about room] I’m not speakin’ to him! Don’t ask me!

Tom It’s lookin’ bad, Danger!

Danger[Dignity] Peg Finnerty, I know you love me … so does many a young girl in this locality and away unto parts west. I can’t marry ye all an’ besides I had a letter yesterday from a doctor’s daughter in Knocknagoshel that she might have an heir for the throne.

Peg [Laughing] Give him the pint, Tom!

[Exit Tom, shaking head. Danger sits, dignified, on chair. Peg continues to sing, pausing from her dusting when she reaches the line: ‘I knew I bore…’ then she goes on]

The dawn was fledged upon the mountain’s rim

The day he went

I knew I bore the livin’ child of him;

I knew I bore the livin’ child of him;

And the child was born to me

Jimmy’s gone across the sea

The dawn is dead upon the mountain’s rim

Here I wait for word of my love, Jim.

Danger Why do you be always singin’ that oul song? Where did you pick it up anyway?

Peg[Absently] The song suits me! Did you know I was called to a Training College for teachers once, years ago? My father an’ mother couldn’t imagine that their daughter might be a teacher, an’ they couldn’t pay.

Danger